Hardly anyone could fail to notice the dramatic changes the cryptocurrency exchange market has experienced over the past few years. With more comprehensive, stricter regulations, broader institutional involvement, and increasingly sophisticated AML requirements, users expect nothing less than transparent, secure, and predictable exchanges. It’s safe to say the crypto market has reached the stage of maturity—both in terms of technology and operational standards.
This evolution brought along an increase in demand for convenient and reliable aggregator platforms that enable easier comparison and more informed decision-making. Founded in 2007, BestChange is one of the world’s longest-established exchange aggregators. The platform has been around for nearly two decades, tracking thousands of exchange pairs across hundreds of vetted exchange services, while observing—and contributing to—the evolution of the cryptocurrency market.
In this interview, BestChange founder Denis Malkov shares his view of how the exchange market has evolved between 2021 and 2026, the growing role of regulation and compliance, the raising bar of user expectations and the shift in their priorities, as well as the promising that could shape the industry in the coming years.
For an even broader perspective on the trends shaping the exchange market in 2026, read the interview with Vugar Usi, CEO of MEXC, where he discusses stablecoins, decentralized trading, regulation, and the growing convergence between crypto and traditional finance.
If you compare the cryptocurrency exchange market in 2021, 2024, and 2026, which change stands out as the most significant?
Without a doubt, regulation. Back in 2021, the era of minimal oversight was only just coming to an end. Regulators were drafting their first meaningful frameworks, and their requirements were gradually making their way into the industry. At the same time, there was still plenty of elbow room. The market was growing rapidly; success stories were abundant, yet there also was no shortage of sophisticated fraud schemes.
By 2024, it had become clear that regulatory requirements for market participants would only continue to tighten. Interestingly, that did little to dampen user interest. The crypto market was growing, and tap-to-earn games were gaining popularity, factoring into the ongoing influx of a new audience. At the same time, the industry was still relatively young, so there was no universally accepted approach to risk assessment. As a result, cryptocurrency transfers were occasionally put on hold due to differing interpretations of transaction risk scores.
By 2026, the rules had changed considerably. Global regulators had reshaped access to the cryptocurrency market. AML checks have become a standard, if not mandatory, part of the process. More and more users now understand how AML procedures work, while we continue to make sure that exchangers apply these checks fairly and appropriately.
Which events of 2026 came as a surprise even to seasoned market participants?
The most notable event was the tightening of European regulation. As the MiCA framework was rolled out, many crypto projects were forced to obtain new authorizations enabling them to continue operating within the EU. At the same time, USDT, which is, by the way, the world’s largest stablecoin, was not approved for use under the new regulation.
The transition period, during which market participants could bring their operations into line with the new requirements, ended on July 1, 2026. Major cryptocurrency exchanges removed USDT from a number of trading services available to European users, affecting liquidity worth more than $175 billion.
What is the main driver of market growth today: new users, institutional investors, or infrastructure development?
At the moment, we can’t say there are any distinct growth drivers. Based on what we’re seeing, the crypto market is plateauing following the change in the U.S. administration. It would be too early to treat standalone high-profile projects as evidence of a broader trend. More often than not, the success of such projects is tied to the specifics of their ecosystem, strong marketing, or administrative endorsement, rather than to any fundamental shift in the market.
However, there are certain factors that continue to support the industry indirectly. Among them, institutional capital is naturally the first one that comes to mind—after all, it’s, so to speak, the talk of the town. Less attention, however, is paid to another significant segment: users of prediction markets and other high-risk speculative products. In many ways, it is their liquidity that continues to sustain activity across certain blockchains and L2 networks.
At the same time, some projects that were until recently seen as promising representatives of the Layer 2 ecosystem have failed to generate lasting user demand. The existence of many is supported by their famous names and past achievements rather than genuine economic activity or meaningful transaction volumes within their networks.
Which exchange and trading segments have seen the strongest growth this year?
Tokenized stocks and real-world assets (RWAs) are clearly leading segments that continue to attract both retail and institutional investors.
Prediction markets are also gaining momentum. We’ve been consistently seeing more users gravitate toward platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. What was once considered a niche segment is gradually becoming a much more visible part of the broader crypto ecosystem.
How has the profile of crypto service users changed over the past few years?
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the crypto market audience was largely made up of enthusiasts and people looking for a convenient way to send money to friends and family across borders. Today’s crypto users are quite different—we’re seeing more entrepreneurs, investors, and miners.
At the same time, customers from certain regions are increasingly subject to additional compliance checks on major international exchanges. In some cases, that leads them to choose exchange services instead, where both the communication process and verification procedures tend to be more transparent and predictable.
How have the regulatory changes introduced in 2026 affected the crypto exchange market?
The DeFi sector and purchases of goods and services with crypto have remained largely unaffected. The biggest challenges arise where digital assets intersect with traditional finance. The conversion of crypto into fiat currencies and back is extremely difficult to track, so this is where regulators have focused most of their attention.
Over the past five years, the market has effectively split into two distinct segments. One operates largely by its own rules and has very little interaction with services that function within regulatory frameworks. The other has become fully integrated into the regulated financial system, where market participants must comply with an ever-growing list of requirements and, in some cases, face excessive oversight.
One of the defining trends in recent years has been the widespread adoption of AML checks. On our side, we’re offering users a tool that can be an accessible alternative to the many standalone services available today. Our AML analyzer enables crypto address checks under retail conditions while offering wholesale pricing.
Exchange services clearly belong to the second segment, which means they have little choice but to comply with the laws of the jurisdictions whose currencies they work with. As a result, running an exchange business has not only become more complex but also involves higher operational risks. The cost of staying compliant continues to rise with every new regulatory change, whether it comes from international frameworks or local legislation.
Does tighter regulation make the market safer, or does it create barriers and reduce the industry’s flexibility?
Regulation has a mixed effect. On the one hand, it offers greater protection for users and contributes to financial stability. On the other hand, it raises operating costs for market participants and gradually changes the way people are used to working with digital assets. The real challenge is finding the right balance between security, transparency, and the preservation of the core advantages that cryptocurrencies were built to offer.
Over the past year, the market has essentially been searching for that balance. Meanwhile, growing regulatory pressure from different jurisdictions adds another layer of uncertainty and intensifies the turbulence created by the ongoing transformation of the industry.
How are users’ expectations around transparency, security, and trust changing today?
User expectations are gradually shifting toward a broader understanding of security. Today, people want to know that their funds are protected and that the exchange service they are using operates transparently and within the law.
Five years ago, privacy was widely seen as one of cryptocurrency’s greatest strengths. Today, more and more users are willing to give up some of that privacy in exchange for greater transparency, clearer processes, and confidence that their transactions are fully legitimate.
What do you see as the most likely regulatory scenario for the crypto market by 2030: global harmonization or a continuation of regional approaches?
A fully unified regulatory framework is unlikely because economic priorities and political approaches differ too much from one country to another. That said, the underlying principles—AML, KYC, and user protection—are likely to become increasingly aligned, gradually converging toward common standards.
We are hoping that the next few years will make the rules of the game clearer and that more transparent ways of working with AML providers will emerge. Today, many of them rely on proprietary risk assessment models, which means the very same asset can receive different risk scores across different services. At the same time, the question of accountability for incorrect assessments remains largely unresolved.
Which crypto exchange trend do you consider underestimated by most participants?
We see strong potential in AI, particularly in AI agents that can simplify the search for relevant exchange offers. Instead of manually comparing dozens of options, users could simply say, “I have 500 USDT — find me the best BTC rate,” and let an AI agent handle the search, taking into account rates, fees, limits, exchanger reputation, and other relevant conditions.
As AI agents become more popular, they could also give a new boost to the long-discussed IoT trend. More than a decade ago, many visionaries saw it as the future, but the market and technology were not yet ready to unlock its full potential. Today, the combination of AI, automation, and connected devices could give the sector fresh momentum.
What do you think the process of buying cryptocurrency will look like five years from now?
Different requirements will naturally lead to different use cases. For investment purposes, digital assets will most likely become another familiar financial instrument—one that can be bought via a banking or brokerage app, just like stocks or ETFs now.
For international trade, we expect a separate regulatory framework to emerge in jurisdictions that support experimental legal regimes, giving businesses access to global crypto services and exchanges. Without that, integrating digital assets into everyday business operations will remain difficult.
As for cross-border transfers between individuals, the exchange service segment is likely to remain in place. However, what role they will play five years from now will largely depend on future regulatory decisions—and at this stage, those are still difficult to predict.
What is one common misconception about the cryptocurrency exchange market that you would like to dispel?
One of the biggest myths about crypto exchanges is that cryptocurrency transactions are completely anonymous. Many people still believe that digital asset transfers leave no trace, that there is no form of identification, and that regulators have no control over this area.
But, of course, that’s not how it works. In reality, cryptocurrencies are not fully anonymous. Every transaction is permanently recorded on a public blockchain, where anyone can see the sender’s and recipient’s wallet addresses, the amount, and the time of the transaction. What those addresses don’t reveal, at least on their own, is the identity of the people behind them.
However, in today’s digital environment, linking a wallet address to a real individual is not that difficult. That connection can be made through KYC verification on a cryptocurrency exchange, by using bank details during an exchange, or even by something as simple as the same username appearing across multiple platforms.
What role do exchange rate aggregators play today: helping users navigate the market, maintaining quality standards, or building trust?
First, I’d like to point out a small but important distinction. BestChange may fall into the category of aggregators, but this term does not fully reflect how our ecosystem works. We occasionally use the term ‘exchange rate monitoring service’—to emphasize that difference.
The thing is, aggregators typically act as intermediaries in the transaction itself and may temporarily handle users’ funds while charging a fee for their services. A monitoring service, by contrast, is first and foremost an information platform. Its purpose is to help users navigate the exchange market, make it more transparent, and reduce the risks associated with choosing an exchange service.
Simply put, we help newcomers make sense of the hundreds of exchange offers available, while allowing experienced users to find suitable rates and conditions much faster. At the same time, BestChange never takes part in the exchange itself and never has access to users’ funds.
A monitoring platform that carefully moderates the list of exchange services and builds rankings based on user feedback naturally strengthens trust in the market as a whole. That said, it’s important to keep expectations realistic. No matter how thorough the security and transparency procedures are, no monitoring platform can guarantee the immaculacy of every exchange completed by every individual exchange service listed on the platform. Our role is to provide users with as much relevant information as possible so they can make informed decisions. But, of course, it is always the user who makes the final choice.
If we view the crypto market as an ecosystem of participants, what role do aggregators play in it?
Firstly, they bring together offers from hundreds of independent exchange services in one place, turning what would otherwise be a fragmented market into something far easier to navigate.
Secondly, among those, there is a large monitoring platform that does far more than simply collect exchange offers. For the past 19 years, BestChange has been providing users with free access to exchange rates, reserve information, and the reputation of exchange services, while collecting hundreds of thousands of user reviews every year. That helps raise standards across the industry, encourages better practices, and narrows the information gap between exchange services and their customers.
Finally, thanks to its accumulated expertise and long-standing reputation, our monitoring platform occupies a unique position within the market. It acts as an independent participant and, where necessary, a trusted mediator in public disputes between users and exchange services.
Could you tell us about the main checks exchange services go through before being listed?
The requirements for exchange services have become much more standardized over time and now revolve around several core areas. Our first step is assessing the technical side of the platform: making sure the website functions properly, evaluating the quality of the user interface, reviewing the originality of the design, and confirming that the service either uses reliable exchange software or, if it relies on an in-house solution, that it conducts regular security audits.
Beyond the technical aspects, we also look at the overall reliability of the business. That includes the quality of customer support, the transparency of the company’s structure, and the availability of information about its owners and beneficiaries. In recent years, regulatory compliance has become an increasingly important part of the review process, including the necessary licenses, KYC procedures, and adherence to AML requirements, both locally specific and internationally recognized.
Which matters more than the exchange rate: processing speed, reserves, or user reviews?
In the long run, reputation and a customer-first approach matter far more than momentary profit. A good example came in October of last year, when we had to remove a large number of offers for certain currency pairs from display because of reputational concerns. Nearly a hundred services were offering rates that looked significantly better than the market average. However, those rates were made possible by using high-risk sources of liquidity. As a result, many users experienced account freezes; numerous transactions were delayed by additional verification procedures and lengthy compliance checks.
That situation proved that an attractive exchange rate is hardly the only thing users should pay attention to. From our perspective as a monitoring platform, what matters is not only the terms of the exchange itself but also the service’s reputation, the quality of its operations, and, of course, customer feedback. That’s why we collect and publish reviews from real users—to make the market more transparent and help people make better-informed decisions.
Which exchange directions are seeing the strongest growth?
The geography of exchange activity continues to expand, and we’re seeing increasing user demand for exchange pairs with assorted national currencies.
We’re actively developing our international presence, particularly in Africa and South America. As a result, non-cash payments through banks in those regions are becoming increasingly important. We’re always interested in working with partners who have access to local banking infrastructure and can help us expand support for these emerging exchange trends.
Denis Malkov is the founder of BestChange. BestChange is an informational monitoring and comparison platform and does not execute exchanges or hold users’ funds. Virtual assets may be highly volatile and may lose their value in part or in full.
